Colorful Zapata sheriff retires after 18 years

Updated 12:15 am, Monday, December 31, 2012

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

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Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez stands on a dock at Falcon Lake, where David Hartley was shot to death in 2010 while riding Jet Skis with his wife. Gonzalez, who is retiring after 18 years in office, defends his actions after the killing.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez stands on a dock at Falcon Lake, where David Hartley was shot to death in 2010 while riding Jet Skis with his wife. Gonzalez, who is retiring after 18 years in office,

Holding a red envelope, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., addresses his staff and "formally" announces his retirement during a tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. The card was a gift from his staff.

Holding a red envelope, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., addresses his staff and "formally" announces his retirement during a tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., left, greets well-wishers during a retirement tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. From left are Zapata County Commissioner Norberto Garza, County Judge Joe Rathmell and Rolando Villarreal.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., left, greets well-wishers during a retirement tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. From

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. looks around his office Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. One of his accomplishments was helping found the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, an advocacy organization that gave rise to the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition. The two organizations bring attention to border security issues, organize for law enforcement officials to testify before state legislatures and Congress and administer grants to border agencies.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. looks around his office Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. One of his accomplishments was helping

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. stands on a dock near a boat ramp on Lake Falcon, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. The dock is the area where American David Hartley and his wife, Tiffany, took off in their jet skies in 2010. They headed to the Mexican side of the lake and encountered drug cartel members who shot them. While she was able to escape, her husband died. The case brought national attention to the area and the sheriff was a daily fixture in television and newspaper reports.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. stands on a dock near a boat ramp on Lake Falcon, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. The dock is

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. gets his shirt adjusted by his wife, Carmen, before a retirement tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19 years in office. He first ran for sheriff in 1992, losing in a runoff election to incumbent Romeo Ramirez. Gonzalez said that at the time he thought that was the end of his political career. Two years later, Ramirez was arrested on corruption charges and Gonzalez, at the time the chief investigator for the county attorney, was appointed to replace him.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. gets his shirt adjusted by his wife, Carmen, before a retirement tamalada, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Gonzalez will retire at the end of the year after nearly 19

Tiffany Hartley, right, and family members, take part in a news conference with Zapata County sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., left, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 in Zapata, Texas. Hartman husband, David, was shot by Mexican pirates on Falcon Lake last week as they were returning to the United States on Jet Skis.

Tiffany Hartley, right, and family members, take part in a news conference with Zapata County sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., left, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 in Zapata, Texas. Hartman husband, David, was shot by

Zapata South Elementary School students are all grins Jan. 30, 2010, after they received a surprise visit from Laredo Bucks hockey star Jeff Bes, back, center. In front are students Perla Alva, Madison Guerra, Clarissa Castillo, James To, Eddie Garcia, Alberto Gonzalez, C.J. Uribe, Clarissa Garcia and Ronnie Sanchez. In back are Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez; students Antonio Perez, Mirely MuÒoz, Alynna Arambula and Franco Arce; Bes; students Bryana Saldana, Jasmyn Hernandez and Gisselle Chapa; and Beto Oliveros. As loud music played on the intercom, students stood outside their classrooms and cheered loudly. Many students know about Bes because they travel to Laredo to watch him play hockey. He autographed pictures, jerseys and shirts.

Zapata South Elementary School students are all grins Jan. 30, 2010, after they received a surprise visit from Laredo Bucks hockey star Jeff Bes, back, center. In front are students Perla Alva, Madison Guerra,

Sigifredo Gonzalez, the sheriff of sparsely populated Zapata County who became a national figure in the debate about border security, is hanging up his gold star.

Gonzalez, 56, did not seek re-election this year. He first ran for sheriff in 1992, losing in a runoff election to incumbent Romeo Ramirez. Gonzalez said that at the time he thought that was the end of his political career. Two years later, Ramirez was arrested on corruption charges and Gonzalez, then the chief investigator for the county attorney, was appointed to replace him.

“I thought I was going to be a one-term sheriff,” Gonzalez said. “Here it is 18½ years later, and I'm leaving on my own terms.”

He'll be replaced in January by Alonso Lopez, a captain with the sheriff's department. The department has a staff of about 100.

Gonzalez helped found the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, an advocacy group that gave rise to the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition. The two organizations bring attention to border security issues, organize for law enforcement officials to testify before state legislatures and Congress, and administer grants to border agencies. Don Reay, the executive director of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, said it has handed out $40 million in grants since it was formed in 2006.

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“Sigi's been a real voice out front and been a real leader without shirking the responsibilities within his county,” Reay said of Gonzalez. “I think the guy has boundless energy. I don't think he ever sleeps. I get emails from him and notes from him at all times of the night.”

In 2010, Gonzalez received even more national attention when American boater David Hartley was killed on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake, a dammed portion of the Rio Grande that borders Zapata County. As media swarmed the county of 14,000, the sheriff was a daily fixture in television and newspaper reports.

Gonzalez clashed with other law enforcement agencies during the investigation, and has been accused of exaggerating the threat of border violence in a county that last had a homicide in 2010. Other law enforcement officers in the county have been arrested on corruption charges, and Gonzalez says he's been investigated by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. He said he's turned down two bribes in his time as sheriff.

“They've arrested lots of people in Zapata, law enforcement and public officials,” Gonzalez said. “If I'd been doing something wrong, they would have arrested me.”

Even though Zapata County has few violent crimes, Falcon Lake has been a favorite transshipment point for narcotics smugglers. That has slowed down considerably, Gonzalez said, as the Mexican military beefed up its presence across the lake after Hartley was killed.

In the spring of 2011, Mexican marines engaged traffickers in a full-scale shootout on the lake, killing 12 suspects and losing one marine. More recently, the lake's level has fallen considerably, making it difficult for traffickers to cross without notice.

The county has not been spared narcotics-related violence, Gonzalez said. A 31-year-old Zapata resident who went missing in 2010 later showed up dead in Mexico, he said.

The small sheriff's department has benefited from the drug war, which has brought $5 million in grants to Zapata for a mobile command center, new vehicles and fancy surveillance equipment.

When he took office in 1994, “the patrol cars the sheriff's office had were total junk; they were not safe to be on the road,” said Gonzalez, who began his career in high school as a dispatcher and became a jailer after graduation. At age 20, he moved to patrol, but under federal law he couldn't buy a gun and ammunition, which deputies supplied themselves.

“Right now, we have some of the best equipment we can get,” Gonzalez said.

“We're really going to miss him,” County Judge Joe Rathmell said recently at Gonzalez's farewell tamalada. “He's brought a tremendous amount of funding to our county, to the point where we have state-of-the-art equipment. He's had a long, distinguished career.”

Money is the reason for retirement, Gonzalez said. The sheriff's job pays about $50,000 a year, he said, and he's been working security for an oilfield company to make ends meet. He intends to pursue a full-time job and consider another political office.

He'll also be able to devote more time to his family, Gonzalez said.

“Many times we were getting ready to go somewhere on a family trip, and we had to get out of the car because I had to go to work,” he said.

Gonzalez's national profile has not endeared him to everyone in Zapata.

Renato Ramirez, the brother of Gonzalez's predecessor and the president of IBC Bank in Zapata, has publicly feuded with the sheriff, voicing his criticism on the opinion page of the Laredo Morning Times.

Ramirez said federal money is being wasted on expensive law enforcement equipment for Zapata County, and he took issue with Gonzalez's participation in the Hartley investigation, considering the killing took place in another country.

“What irks me about what he says is, the hunters don't want to come here, the fishermen don't want to come here,” said Ramirez, who publicly fished on the lake after Hartley's killing. “He does not understand the impact he's having on the economic development of Zapata County with his constant harping on spillover violence and pirates on the lake.”

Gonzalez says he's taking criticism for not sugarcoating the truth.

“I don't work for the chamber of commerce,” he said. “I'm not a politician, I'm a public servant. I have said the U.S. side of the border is relatively safe. I have said don't go to Mexico. It's not safe.”